Player-piano.



J. H. DICKINSON.

PLAYER PIANO. APPLICATION YI LED MAR. 14, 1912.

Patented June 11, 1912.

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JOSEPH=H.' DICKINSGN, OF CRELN NEW JERSEY.

PLAYER-FIANU.

Specification of Le ters Patent.

Application 'filed March 14, 15%.

Union: and State of New Jersey, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Player-Pianos, of which the fol-- vided with an arm lowing is a specification.

This invention relates to improvements in player pianos and particularly to devices for automatically controlling the actuation and operation of certain parts of the piano player mechanism. v

Theobject of my invention is to provide a newand improved deviceof this kind which automatically, by means of the perforated music-sheet, successively or suddenly moves certain elements of thd player mechanism in one direction or the reverse thereof, which device is simple in construction, ef fective and reliable in action.

In the accompanying drawings in which like letters of reference indicate like parts in all the figures, one embodiment of my invention is shown, and in these drawings Figure 1 is a diagrammatic view of my improved attachment, parts being shown in elevation, parts abeing broken away and others shown in section. Fig. 2 is an enlarged detail cross sectional view through the controlling valve mechanism. Fig. 3 is an enlarged detail view of parts. -Fig. 4 is a face view of the part of the music sheet of its spools, parts being broken away to show the tracker.

The box or casing 1 is provided with a neck 2 which by means of a suitable tube or duct is tobe connected with an air rarefying device, such as is common and well known in player pianos. The chamber 3 formed in said box or casing 1 is provided with a neck 4 from which a tube or conduit is to extend to the wind-chest of a piano player action in any well known manner. A duct or passage 5 in said box is in communication with the neck 2 and can be closed more or less by a valve 6 pivoted at 7. to an arm 8 of a rock shaft 9 in said box or casing 1 and said valve (3 is connected by a pivoted link 1O with the movable board 11 of a bellows 12 provided with a spring 13 for expanding it and the interior of this bellows communicates with the chamber 3 in the bottom of the box 1. .jfLOutside of the box 1 the shaft. 9 is pro- 14 connected by a cond A. l ttion bar 16 aapurpose of holding it at rest at whatci -r position it may havewhen action thereon stops. On one edge of said bar 16 two racks andQO are formed, the teeth of the same extending in opposite directions.

hose teeth can be engaged by two pawls 23. mounted on the movable boards of pneumatics 21 and As these pneumatics are alike I will describe only one.

To the movable board of the pneumatic 21 the pawl lever is pivoted at 24 .and is provided with a toe on which spring 26 acts for the purpose of throwing the pawl upward or outward to such 4. ant that it can engage the teeth of the rack 19 on the bar 16. An adjustable stop 2? here shown.

in the form of a screw in the fixed board of the bellows serves. for controlling the distance of the throw of said movable board of said pneumatic or bellows. \Yhen the pneumatic '21 is fully expanded by its spring 28 an upwardly projectingtoe 2.9 of the pawl -23 comes in contact with the fixed pin 30, whereby the spring 26 is more or less compressed and the free end of the pawl 23 is swung down to such an extent as to clear the corresponding rack andto permit the bar 16 to be moved lengthwise without in any way engaging said pawl. The interior of the bellows 21 is connected by a duct 31 with the valve chamber 39 containing a valve 33 on the stem 34, all of conventional construction. This stem can be raised by a diaphragii'i 35 overa recess 36 connected by a tube 37 with a duct in the tracker 38. There are foursuch ducts marked 39 in the tracker and with themaslots 40 can register which are arranged in 'four longitudinal rows in the perforated music sheet 41, which is wound in conventional manner on the spools 42 and 43.

I provide two additional bellows H and 45, the movable boards of which have considerably larger throw than the movable boards of the bellows 21 and in fact the bellows 4i and 45 are to move 1he bar 16 to its limit in either direction, that is as far as stops 46 and -17 would permit. For this purpose each bellows is provided on its movable board with an arm 1'8 \vhiclrcan act on one end of the bar 16. Each bellows 1i and -15 is connected by a tube 48 to late '18 b ears onthe face of the a valve mechanism Such as previously described and this valve mechanism is connected by a tube such as previously denism "or the-pneumatics 44 and 45 and the intermediate ducts 39 are connected with the valve mechanism for the-bellows 21 and 22. Slots 40 are cut in the music sheetin such a manner as to register with the corresponding tracker duct when the corresponding action of the mechanism is required to 0perate. v

A spring 13 normally holds the valve 6 in what may be termed the-open position for this valve and this is the position when the pumping apparatus of the player is not in operation. As soon as the pumping mechanism is operated, the same rarefaction of air'exists in the bellows 12' as exists in the .action wind-chest and thus collapses the bellows 12, more or less and as thistension varies the movable board 11 of the bellows '12 vibrates. This form of air 'controller is not be further described. I I

The valve 16 is pivoted on the arm 7 as stated and when the arm is in the position shown in full lines the valve 6 is inthe position for soft playing as the greater part of the duct 5 is closed-'bythe valve. When the arms 7 and 14 are in the position shown' in dotted lines the valve 6'is adjusted for forte playing and the duct 5' is only. closed or almost entirely closed when t e bellows 12 is completely collapsed.- Int rmediate positions of the arms 7 and 14, that isintermediate between the positions shown in full lines and the positions shown'in' dotted lines represents various'degre'es of loudness.

If at any time the arms 7 and 14 are in the pbsitions shown in full lines and the playing is to become louderstep by step the bellows 21 is repeatedly and successively exhausted'so as to cause its pawl 23 to en! gage the teeth of the rack 19 and to, step by step, move the bar 16 to the right. .The bar may be moved only one or two teethor successively by all the teeth of the rack 19,v this depending upon the'number of slots or holes 40 successively appearing in the corresponding row in the note sheet.

Immediately after the rack bar 16 ,has been moved the distance of one tooth of its rack 19 by the collapsing of the bellows 21 the bellows again expands and by the contact'of the toe 29 and the stop pin 30 the pawl is thrown out, of engagement with the rack, so as to leave the bar 16 free to be moved by the other pawl or by the end bellows 44 and 45. If it is desired to swing the arms 7 and 14 instantly and in one movement from the extreme position shown in full lines to the extreme position shown in hand end of the bar treme piano and it sired the parts i 4 position successively or suddenly by means well known in musical instruments and need ters Patent is dotted lines, air .is exhausted from the end bellows 44 by providing a corresponding slot or hole in the corresponding row of slots 40' in the music-sheet and as the bellows 44 is collapsed its arm 48-acting on the "left 16 moves .the same to the right .to the extreme limit until it is arrested by the stop 47. In a similar Waythe I bar 16 can bd moved step by step to the left orat any time and from any position can be moved the extreme. distances to the left until it is stopped by the-stop 46. For example, if the melody is beingplayed inexis-desired to gradually play louder, a numberof succeeding slots '40 are arranged ,in the corresponding row on the note sheet/so as to gradually move the arms 7 and 14 fro the position shown in full lines in Fig. 1- to the position shown in dotted lines. If, however, after one or two mdvements of the bellows21, it .is desired to play fortissimo the bellows 44 is collapsedwlf then normal playing is decan be" brought to normal of the bellows 22 or 45. .The air that enters through the note slots into the tracker duct merely'ser'ves fog-operating the valves as thebell ows 21, 22, 44 and 45 are-all exhauste into the exhausting chamber 49 which by 'a suitable ne'ck 5O and connection is exhausted from the ordinary exhausting mechanism of the player piand- Having described my invention what .I claim as new and desire to secure'by Let- 1. In a piano playing mechanism, the com bination with an adjustable element forming part of said mechanism, of a rack and pawl means for adjusting said element in one direction or the reverse thereof, step by step, and two independent mechanisms for adjusting said valve to'its limit of adjustment,

in one strokd, in oppositedirections, a separate pneumatic device for operating each separate element adjusting means, and means for controlling the-pneumatic device from a perforated-music sheet, substantially as set forth.

2. In a piano playing mechanism, the combination with an adjustable element forming part of said playing mechanism, a rack bar in operative connection with said element, a pneumatic,a pawl for engagement with the rack and operated from the movable board of the pneumatic, an additional pneumatic, meansfor shifting said rack bar lengthwise by said additional pneumatic, in the same direction as it is moved by the pawl, and independent means for governing the operation of said two pneumatics from a perforated music sheet, substantially as set forth.

3. In a piano playing mechanism, the combination with an adjustable element *elen ent', stO s 'jqr' formin pz irtio'ffsaid playing mechanism, of a rackv al in perative connection with said element; apnenmatic, a' pawl for engagementwith the tack and operated 'fi'om the movable board. (if, the pneumatic, an additiqnal. pneumatic; means 'for' shifting said raclgbarlleng'thwise by said additional pneuinatic in thersame dli ec'tio 'i as it is movedby-t-hepawl, a" stop in the pathbf said bar for lirn'ltin' its movement-Land independent means for governing theoperation of said We pnen natis from iii/perforated music sheet, substantially-"as set orth.

4. In a piano-playing mechanism, the- I combination with an adjustable element' v formin art of said playing mechanis f y g ed th an a e lengthwise 1 a rack. ba'r operativ l miting t movement 0 said rack bar in either direction when the limit of adjustment in either.v direction of said element has been reached, two racks formed on said bar, two pnemn mics, apaWl0perated from the'movable board of each pneumatic, for engagement with a rack,

stantially as set forth.

JOSEPH H. DICKINSON.

Witnesses v ALEXANDER MCDONNELL, P. NICOLAVIN. 

